ISLAMABAD: Official sources have indicated that Japan plans to import Pakistani mangoes from next year and has shown keen interest in investing in the country’s dairy and horticulture sectors.
An eight-member delegation of the Japan Agriculture Association (JA) group led by its Vice Chairman Yasuhiro Nakagawa held meetings with the Agriculture Minister Nazar M Gondal and officials of Board of Investment (BOI) here on Monday.
According to official sources, JA delegation was visiting to explore avenues for investment, especially in the fields of mangoes processing, dairy, livestock and citrus fruits.
The group has also made substantial investments in agriculture sector in China and Australia and evinced great interest in emulating a similar project for Pakistan.
During talks with Gondal, Yasuhiro Nakagawa said that Japan would commence import of the renowned Pakistani mango from next year. He assured those gathered of investment in the dairy and horticulture sectors along with technology transfer.
The group has made investment in dairy products in Australia and would like to replicate the processes perfected there in Pakistan.
JA is an organisation that conducts business activities based on the participation and collective efforts of its members. It assumes a responsible stance towards local farmers involved in the farmers’ security through credit and insurance policies and marketing of their products. He added that the group also provides the latest farm machinery. It is the largest group of its kind in Japan.
The agriculture minister said that it was extremely heartening to hear that Pakistani mangoes would enter the Japanese markets from next season. He expressed his belief there were ideal investment opportunities for the Japanese investors in the country. It as revealed that foreign companies, which have already invested in the dairy sector, were reaping returns triple their investment.
Pakistan, he said, has the third largest number of livestock in the world, which provided an excellent opportunity for value addition in milk production and processing of halal meat which has grown into an enormous global industry.
The Japanese delegation was given a detailed briefing on the investment policy, incentive package and the potential of the agriculture sector by BOI officials.
The delegation was informed that the GDP share of agriculture was 21 percent, with crops holding a share of 46 percent, livestock 52 percent, fisheries one percent, and forestry one percent.
Investment opportunities in farm equipment and machinery, pressurised irrigation systems, BT seeds, packaging technology, and warehouse storage are manifold.
